June 14, 2007

INDUSTRY ACCESS*

CMI Opens Door-Manufacturing Plant in Texas

CraftMaster Manufacturing, Inc. (CMI) has opened a new door-manufacturing plant in Garland, TX, to produce its complete line of CraftMaster®Interior Doors. The 253,000-sq.-ft. facility, located just northeast of Dallas, is the company’s third door-manufacturing plant, joining others in Christiansburg, VA, and Ozark, AL. CMI purchased the existing site in October 2006, installed state-of-the-art production machinery and began shipping finished interior door products on May 30. Full Story

Click here for more Industry Access news including recent new hires, merger & acquisition activity and who's offering new products.

* DHI Members may submit news releases to be considered for inclusion in DHI's IndustryWatch. Send to: jmadden@dhi.org.

BUSINESS UPDATE

The annualized rate of U.S. construction cost increases in the latest quarter (April 2007 versus January 2007) was 2.2%, according to RSMeans. Material prices rose at a 2.9% annual rate and installation or labor charges climbed only 1.1%. The year-over-year increase in overall construction costs was 5.1%, comprised of 6.2% for materials and 3.5% for labor. Among material costs, the most dramatic price movements in the latest three months have been for doors and frames (3.5% quarter to quarter and 5.8% year over year) and precast concrete (3.4% quarter to quarter and 16.2% year over year), reported Reed Construction Data. Full Story

Active market conditions, shortage of labor and increases in material prices will contribute to construction cost increases, according to the Turner Building Cost Index. The second quarter 2007 index showed a 1.93% increase in construction costs over the First Quarter 2007 and a 7.62% increase compared to the second quarter 2006 index, according to the Cost Index, reported FacilitiesNet. Full Story

Construction spending on non-residential buildings increased 1.1% in April, month over month and is now 16.0% above last April and 57% above the bottom of the last building cycle, at the end of 2002. Construction spending on "for lease" buildings rose 1.5% in April, led by a 4.7% gain for hotels. Construction spending for other buildings increased a weaker 0.8%, due to only small increases for the large education and health care sectors, according to Reed Construction Data. Full Story

Last October, Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. made waves in the green building market when it announced that it would begin to offer discounted property insurance rates for commercial buildings that are certified through the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program or the Green Building Initiative's Green Globes rating system. As part of the program the insurer said it would offer 5% discounts for green buildings. As expected, the real estate market has responded positively to the insurer's gracious offer, and in just seven months, the first round of discounted policies are being written, reported Building Design & Construction. Full Story

RFID (radio frequency identification) is beginning to be used in the construction industry. One of the more recent examples comes from tool manufacturer Robert Bosch Corp., which used RFID to create the Safe & Sound program. The program consists primarily of an RFID tag to track the vital information about a tool and an EAS (electronic article surveillance) tag to make sure the tool doesn’t leave a designated area, reported Constructech. Full Story

CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN

Wachovia plans to only build "green" financial centers by the end of next year, starting with eight soon-to-open banking offices in southern California. The move comes as Wachovia embarks on a major expansion into California, a market where the nation's fourth-largest bank has just a handful of locations. In all, the bank plans to build at least 300 "green" financial centers nationally by the year 2010, reported The News & Observer. Full Story

The hotel industry is going green. The Green Building Council has 59 applications for U.S. hotel projects, including 7,500 rooms in MGM Mirage's $7.4 billion CityCenter in Las Vegas, said to be the largest privately financed green building project in the USA. California and New York have the most green hotel projects underway, with 14 and 10, respectively, reported Building Design & Construction. Full Story

Construction spending in New York City will top $25 billion this year as the Big Apple reaps the benefits of strong office space demand and an influx of government spending on infrastructure improvements, according to a new report. Last year, total construction spending reached $24.6 billion, up 18% from 2005, according to the New York Building Congress report, reported Crain's New York Business. Full Story

SECURITY & SAFETY

The editors at Security Distributing & Marketing have authored an education market primer. Full Story

Security Distributing & Marketing takes a look at different types of web-based access control systems. Full Story

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

The House Appropriations Committee has added tens of millions of dollars in fiscal year 2008 funding for key energy-efficiency programs, reversing years of declining funding, reported FacilitiesNet. Full Story

The International Code Council proposed to Congress a Community Building Code Administration Grant Program. In more than 130 meetings on Capitol Hill with Congressional offices, Code Council leaders promoted the proposal that would provide federal grants to building departments to enhance code enforcement capabilities. Full Story

Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) reintroduced legislation to help school districts finance needed school construction and modernization projects. The Investing for Tomorrow’s Schools Act will create State Infrastructure Banks to improve financing for school construction. Schools will be able to secure loans through these banks for projects that include construction to address enrollment growth, increase physical safety and create an infrastructure to support educational technology. The bill also will implement healthy, high-performance school guidelines for the construction and renovation of school buildings, educational facilities, and libraries to help ensure that schools meet high environmental health standards. Full Release

Following the example of places like California and New York City, Sen. Charles Schumer on recently announced a plan for federal regulations that would require states and municipalities to update building codes and increase building energy efficiency. His proposed amendment would set targets of 30% increases in efficiency by 2012 and 50% increases by 2022 through a nationwide code. States could have their own codes, but would be required to meet those overall goals, reported Newsday. Full Story

Minnesota recently became the seventh state in the U.S. to formally recognize the Green Building Initiative’s (GBI) Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system by passing its "Next Generation Energy Act of 2007" into policy. Among its many directives, the "Next Generation Energy Act of 2007" sets a state goal of certifying 100 commercial buildings to the Green Globes or U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standard by December 31, 2010, and mandates utilities to include in their conservation improvement plans programs that facilitate professional engineering verification to qualify a building as Green Globes-certified, Energy Star-labeled or LEED-certified, reported Building Design & Construction. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that multifamily builders can rest assured they are complying with all applicable accessibility requirements when following the 2006 edition of the International Building Code and the 2003 edition of the International Code Council A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities. Full Story

Oregon home builders with green building expertise may soon need to raise their standards to stay ahead. The Oregon Building Codes Division is considering aggressive changes to home building codes that would reduce home energy use by 10% to 15%, reported Reed FirstSource. Full Story

SMALL BUSINESS NEWS

Immigration Reform

Supporters of the immigration reform bill have vowed to revisit the bill soon, with President Bush going as far as personally visiting Capital Hill to rally support for the bill. The majority of President Bush’s efforts during his visit to Capital Hill will be on convincing his fellow Republicans, who overwhelmingly voted against the motion by a vote of 7-38, to support the immigration overhaul. The key Senator to watch over the next couple of weeks will be Senator John Kyl (R-AZ). His early support of the bill was critical to its initial momentum. However, his support has since cooled, leading to his recent vote against cloture. If President Bush can find a way to convince him to support the bill again, then the bill will be back on track.

Trade with China

Pressure continues to mount over the trade deficit between the U.S. and China. House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) recently requested that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigate the extent to which the government of China is involved in manipulating the trade market in their country’s favor. Of particular concern to Chairman Rangel is the government’s subsidization of the manufacturing sector, which places U.S. manufacturing firms at a considerable disadvantage.

Alternative Minimum Tax

Details on the proposal by House Ways and Means Democrats to address the AMT are slowly emerging. It now appears as if Democrats are seeking to pay for the repeal of the AMT for couples making less than $250,000 by imposing a surtax somewhere between 4 and 5% on individuals earning more than $500,000. The effort to gain support for this bill is being led by Chairman Rangel and Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) who hope to garner enough support for passage and will begin markup of the bill sometime in July.

On the Senate side, it appears as if Chairman Baucus is content to enact a two-year patch, rather than the ambitious House plan. However, even such a comparatively modest proposal, with a price tag of about $7 billion, which will need to be offset under the new paygo budget rules.

DHI's Jerry Heppes sits on the board of the Small Business Legislative Council. If you'd like more information on these or other issues affecting small businesses, feel free to contact him at jheppes@dhi.org.

FOUNDATION NEWS

Foundation Meets with the Staff of U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security

Members of the Foundation for the Advancement of Life Safety and Security met with representatives for the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. The meeting took place with representatives of ranking member Peter King’s staff. The purpose of the meeting was to educate the House Homeland Security committee on the active role the door and hardware industry, and its members, play in safety and security. As an outcome of the meeting, the foundation will explore new opportunities at the federal, state and local level for funding that supports our efforts.

AHJ Fire-Door Classes Set for Maine and New York

The Foundation will continue its educational class and awareness campaign for the fire-door inspection initiative by conducting classes for code officials in Maine and New York later this summer. The instruction will conclude by mid-August.

Companies Committed to Making a Difference

Thank you to the following companies for their increased and continued financial support of the Foundation’s activities this year: Hager Companies, Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies, LaForce Inc., SELECT Hinges -- SELECT Products Limited, Spalding Hardware, Ltd. and Top Notch Distributors, Inc.

It is with this type of commitment that the foundation is able to continue to advance our important message of life safety and security.

Your support continues to make a difference. Thank you.

Donate Online at Foundation’s Website

To make an online donation, please visit www.lifesafetyandsecurity.org, click on 'Support Us'. You will see a button for 'Make a Donation'. You can use your credit card or your PayPal account.

Thank you for your consideration of support.

Keep up-to-date with the latest Foundation news and programs, please visit www.lifesafetysecurity.org

DHI NEWS

Make Sure Your DHI Membership Is Up-To-Date!

As we approach the end of DHI’s membership year, make sure you stay up to date with DHI and continue receiving your invaluable DHI member benefits. Keep your membership current! You can renew online at www.dhi.org/membership, contact our Member Services team directly at 703-222-2010, or watch your mail for a printed invoice from DHI. Make sure you are part of the advancements and accomplishments that DHI continues to make for the betterment of life safety and security in the architectural openings industry!

Keep Your Contact Information Current!

Make sure you are you receiving all important DHI notifications and information. Updating your information is easy. Login to DHI’s website at www.dhi.org to edit your contact information online, or call DHI’s Member Services team directly at 703-222-2010 and we can make those changes for you. With the launch of the Annual Fire Door Assembly Inspection Program (AFDAIP), the immeasurable progress that DHI is making on behalf of the industry and exciting upcoming industry events, you don’t want to be left out!